Sisters, Two
by Dude Jupiter
Summary: The author of Fire Upon Emeralds and Die Hard, Sakuya! brings you Sisters, Two -- a tale of the bonds of sistership between Ayeka and Sasami. (I had some trouble loading this story, so I'm sorry if this isn't complete :s)(I'm submitting it in four pieces)
1. Part 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Tenchi characters, concepts, ideas, or whatever. Tenchi is a product   
of Pioneer and AIC. I am not intending to profit from this story in any way; it is written for the   
enjoyment of others and my own personal enjoyment.  
CONTACT: dude_from_jupiter@yahoo.com  
NOTES: Oh man... It's finally here... Man. This one hit me strong. Or at least the idea did. I have   
not yet written it as I write this note, but my head is going to explode. I've got the idea, the plot,   
everything, and I can't wait to get it written for you... Whoever you are... Well, enough of this, I'd   
better let you read the story (if you want to :p). Talk to you more about this after I write this story.  
  
  
  
  
SISTERS, TWO  
by Dude Jupiter  
  
  
CHAPTER 1  
The smell of wonderfully cooked fish only added to the exquisit flavor. It was the quality of   
any food found in a fine resteraunt.  
"Superb, Sasami," Katsuhito complimented, speaking for the first time since the meal had   
begun. "Simply superb. Someday I'm sure you'll make a fortune."  
Sasami's eyes brightened, she blushed slightly, and nodded her head in thanks for the   
compliment. She returned to eating her food, her mouth caught in a smile. The others looked at   
her, happy for her; she was obviously in a white bliss in her pride.  
The last rays of daylight poured in through a window onto the table. The windows   
themselves were frosted with a late January cold, which acted as a sort of magnifying lens on the   
last light of the day.  
Tenchi helped himself to some more of the food. Sometimes it seemed as though he just   
couldn't get enough of Sasami's cooking; it was amazing what the little girl could do at the small   
age of twelve. Her abilities far surpassed some of five times her age with five times her experience.   
How her talents came to her so naturally Tenchi had no idea, but he certainly enjoyed the fruits of   
her labor.  
Life at the Masaki residence had not yet fallen into a monotony, and no boredom was   
promised. There was always something to be done or worried about, or even excited about. There   
was usually gardening, but that was not on Tenchi's mind at this part of the year. His concerns   
were household chores, and the other aspects of life...  
Waking up in the morning and hearing Ryoko and Ayeka fighting like mortal enemies was   
nothing too unusual. Sometimes he would be jolted awake as their fights got more "explosive", if   
you will. There was Washu's inventions to worry about; somehow Mihoshi always managed to   
produce flaws in the genius's otherwise flawless wonders of mankind (or, more accurately,   
womankind). There were, occasionally, visitors from space which had to be dealt with.  
There were so many things to keep Tenchi busy. Sometimes he thought he'd go insane with   
all this noise, fighting, chaos, and uproar...  
Then his more logical side would point out the flaw in this train of thought: What would life   
be like without his five best friends? What would life be like without Ryoko, without Washu,   
without Sasami or Ayeka or Mihoshi? Would the peace and quiet be so wonderful? Would the rest   
and relaxation be so desireable?  
No. *Then* life would be monotonous. Then life would begin to lose its flavor.  
These thoughts passed his mind. Yes, he was actually thankful for all this. He was thankful   
for every bit of it...  
Ryoko. Ryoko. He remembered that time, seemingly so long ago, when his curiosity had   
caused him to open her cave. He remembered their first meeting, and shivered.  
He remembered the meeting with her on the top of the school, when she had nearly killed   
him. He remembered being captured by Ayeka... Meeting Sasami while attempting a valiant   
escape... Then Mihoshi, as she had crashed to earth... And finally Washu, rescued from the Soja.  
What would life be like?  
Katsuhito, his old grandfather. The old man who trained him daily. Full of wisdom and   
love.  
His father, with his tiny black mustache and messy black hair. His woman-oriented life, but   
his unending love for his son.  
Mihoshi... (Tenchi laughed silently as she attacked a piece of fish on her plate as it refused   
to be caught by her chop sticks)... Ever the blonde, but somehow striking. Her huge blue eyes   
shone fiercely as she continued to try to win the battle against her food.  
Ayeka, her long and purple hair shining just above her (*what do you call that color?*   
Tenchi wondered) purplish-reddish eyes, her small form sitting in a seemingly perfect posture at   
the table, ever remaining the princess, even on this tiny little planet.  
Washu, her red hair like fire, her eyes shining green like grass on a sunny day. Tiny little   
Washu sat eating, seemingly absent-minded... *Probably thinking about some invention,* Tenchi   
thought.  
Ryoko, her cyan hair in huge spikes. Her amber eyes shining like the sun, her mouth almost   
etched into a permenant smile. Oh, sure, it could twist into a frown that could kill, sometimes, but   
her smile was even seemingly hidden behind her worst of frowns.  
Little Sasami, her blue hair and pink eyes. Her tiny form, her head bobbing, her fingers   
clutching at her head like it were about to split open...  
Tenchi snapped out of his reverie when the realization dawned on him that she was in pain.   
"Sasami?" he said, a little timidly.  
Sasami did not answer. Her fingers remained in her hair, strained, as if she were trying to   
claw her scalp away. Her fingers, tensed, shook madly, and her head swayed from side to side.   
She uttered a small moan, and her head kept swaying.  
"Sasami?" Tenchi asked a little louder.  
The others had apparently not noticed that anything had been wrong, for they glanced at   
her with what looked like surprise. A feeling, almost tangible in the air, as if it were gathering the   
energy from each soul in the room and using it in a cumulative attack, seemed to touch each mind,   
spreading its message of growing alarm.  
Ayeka reached out and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Sasami?" she said. "Are you   
okay, Sasami?"  
Sasami did not answer.  
"Sasami?!" Ayeka asked, her voice having taken on a more panicky note.  
"Ay-ay..." Sasami managed.  
Ayeka's eyes widened, as if in realization, or possibly as if in horror. Her mouth dropped   
open, and she retained her position. In the moments that followed, everyone could have sworn that   
Ayeka had suddenly turned into a wax statue; she did not move even the slightest, and her skin   
paled to a sickening shade.  
Tenchi wouldn't ever really admit it to anyone but himself, but he *felt* something... He   
felt it pass through him... Travel up and down his spine, enter his bones, make him feel hollow   
inside...  
And...  
  
CHAPTER 2  
It was a very pretty flower, she had to agree. Although it was not one of the most precious   
she had ever seen, it carried some value. Maybe it didn't carry physical value, but it carried some   
sentimental value: this was a gift from her little sister.  
"Isn't it pretty?" Sasami asked in her tiny, happy voice. "I picked it for you, Ayeka."  
"Thank you, Sasami," Ayeka resonded, her voice quite small itself.  
Ayeka looked at her little sister lovingly. Sasami was so tiny... Barely on her feet. Sasami   
was only six, and she was actually quite clumsy, Ayeka thought, but did that mean anything?   
Every kid six years old had so much energy and was growing so rapidly that it was no wonder   
they tripped over their feet sometimes.  
Ayeka, ten now, felt quite mature. She didn't trip over her own feet anymore (years later,   
when she met Tenchi, she would never admit it to him, but she had been quite clumsy as a young   
one). She didn't act as childish as Sasami, and that was quite good. Of course, she didn't look   
down on Sasami for her immaturity; she couldn't help it.  
Ayeka somewhat used Sasami as her comparison for maturity, actually. Not getting out of   
the palace too much, she didn't meet to many people her age. So, naturally wanting to feel like a   
mature young lady, she had needed someone to compare herself with, so Sasami had been the   
natural choice.  
But Ayeka could not help loving little Sasami to death. She was so sweet, adorable,   
loveable... Ayeka was sure that if anything ever happened to Sasami, she herself would die.  
"Where did you find this, Sasami?" Ayeka asked after a short moment of silence.  
"I..." Sasami pasued.  
Ayeka would have found this pause strange, but she *felt* it herself. She couldn't quite   
define it, but it felt as if something were happening wrong. Not like the feeling that something   
wrong was happening, but the feeling that something was happening wrong... As if something had   
already happened, and was now happening again, but something about the way it was happening   
again was wrong.  
"Sasami, do..."  
"Sh-h-h," Sasami said, lifting a finger up to her lips. "Something's not right."  
Bewildered that they had both been struck by the same feeling, Ayeka made a nervous   
noise and stopped talking. She let Sasami listen to whatever she had silenced her older sister for.  
Sasami, even though she was young, wore a look that spoke of some secret knowledge.   
What this knowledge could be, Ayeka had no idea, but the expression screamed of it. Sasami   
squinted, then closed her eyes.  
"This... has... already happened," Sasami said softly. "And... it's happening again... But   
something's going terribly wrong..."  
"Sasami, what are you talking about?!" Ayeka asked in a scared, shaking whisper.  
"It's like..." Sasami lifted her eyes to meet her sister's. In them Ayeka saw the fear of a small   
child faced with the monster from the closet. "It's like everything we're doing right now has   
already happened... But it's being... changed..."  
Both were thrown to the ground as what sounded like the end of the world exploded. The   
light blinded them, the heat made it momentarily impossible to breath, and the noise, the deafening   
noise, rendered their ears useless for the next few minutes.  
They both landed on the ground and lost all sight as smoke and heat enveloped them. The   
heat was searing hot, and both screamed in pain, though they could not begin to hear each other,   
let alone themselves.  
Even before the smoke cleared there was another explosion, farther away this time, but   
definitely close enough to hurt their already ringing ears. Shortly after that explosion, Ayeka heard   
the dreaded sound of the Juraian War Sirens blaring their long, hollow tones.  
The sky was gray now from the smoke, but through it Ayeka could see tiny little dots   
streaking through the atmosphere far above her head. One shot two small dots from itself. These   
dots slammed into the ground a few miles away and made two new explosions.  
Recovering from shock, Ayeka knew she should take Sasami to the palace's bomb-proof   
shed. She remembered her father instructing her as a child, in a stern voice, that if she ever heard   
the Juraian War Sirens, she should run to the shed as fast as her legs could carry her, and she   
should take Sasami with her.  
"You are not to stop for toys, valuables, anything," her father had instructed her. "I don't   
care if it's the most precious thing in the world to you; if you hear those sirens, you run as if you   
were running for your life, because that's what you'll be running for."  
"Sasami! Come with me now!" Ayeka cried. "Come NOW! We have to go to the bomb   
shed!"  
"NO!" Sasami cried.  
"WHAT?!" Ayeka shouted back. "Why ever not?!"  
"It's not safe there!" Sasami said, her eyes filling with tears. "We can't go there, Ayeka! It's   
safe *here*!"  
"Sasami, you're speaking foolishness!" Ayeka chided in desperation. "Come with me now!   
You know what father..."  
"Father doesn't know who's in there!" Sasami said, backing away from Ayeka as Ayeka   
made an approach to catch her sister.  
"Who's in there?" Ayeka asked. Another explosion rung out from far above, the noise   
sending chills down Ayeka's spine. "SASAMI, WE'RE GOING TO DIE!"  
"Ayeka," Sasami said calmly. "If we stay here we'll live... If we go to the shed we'll die... I   
can't explain it... I just know...!"  
"NONSENSE!" Ayeka shouted, and made a dash at Sasami. Sasami, unsuspecting, was   
caught by the arm. Ayeka began to pull Sasami after her, and Sasami resisted, but she could not   
fight against Ayeka's superior strength.  
"Ay--Ayeka, I don't want to die...!" Sasami bawled. "It's not safe there!"  
"Sasami, you stop fighting me!" Ayeka cried, tears running down her own cheek now. They   
would not be safe until they reached the shed! How could Sasami not see that?! She was going to   
be the death of her...!  
"Ayeka...!" Sasami pleaded.  
Ayeka ignored her sister's pleas and dragged her along, using all the strength she could   
muster. Finally, Sasami let out a defeated whimper and followed Ayeka. They had almost reached   
the shed, and Sasami had broken down into desperate sobs, when Ayeka heard her father's voice.  
"STAY OUT OF THERE!"  
"What?!" Ayeka called, looking around for her father.  
The two doors to the shed, built into the ground, flew open in an explosion. Ayeka   
watched, horrified, as her father, the Emperor of Jurai, came flying out, blasted out by the   
explosions.  
Apparently the Emperor had looked out the explosion-proof window and seen his two   
daughters and shouted to warn them. That Ayeka and Sasami had been able to hear him meant that   
the doors had been unlocked and unsealed. That it had been unsealed was no big thing to worry   
about; obviously, they would wait to seal the place until their the two princesses of Jurai came. But   
unlocked?! Ayeka and Sasami had seen no one enter or exit through the two doors as they had   
approached them, and the only time the doors were *ever* unlocked was the brief periods of time   
it took for one to enter or exit the shed. After one entered or exited, the lock would immediately   
activate.  
Ayeka knew this.  
She and her little sister started to run over to their father, who lay crumpled and bleeding on   
the ground. When he saw them making for him, however, he simply lifted a hand in a gesture that   
said "No. Come not farther."  
Ayeka and Sasami stood watching their father die, horrified.  
  
CHAPTER 3  
Tenchi could have almost cried himself, watching Ayeka and Sasami sobbing the way they   
were sobbing. They both cried in racking sobs, as if their most precious possession had just been   
taken from them. And, in a strange way, it seemed as though they *had* had one of their most   
precious possessions taken from them, judging by the way they talked.  
"I... Remember it as though it were yesterday," Ayeka sobbed. "He... My God... He lay   
there broken, bleeding... I could... see... I... Oh... Oh..."  
"I said, hold that thought," Washu said, tapping furiously at the holotop computer that she   
had just materialized. "Something about this just doesn't add up..."  
Sasami finished the thought Aeyak had begun but been unable to finish. "We could see...   
inside... his head..." she sobbed. "His eye... was... out...!"  
Mihoshi threw a hand up to her mouth, possibly in surprise, or possibly trying to hold in her   
supper.  
Washu's eyebrows came together above her emerald eyes as they struck on something.   
"Here it is..." she said in a low voice.  
"And... And..." Ayeka continued, but was interrupted by Washu.  
"Ayeka, this memory is false," she said softly. "Actually, right now, technically, it is true.   
But history has been changed in a rather strange way..."  
"What are you talking about?" Ryoko asked.  
Washu put her hands up to her temples and rubbed them, obviously feeling a headache   
coming on. "Oh my... Looks like history hasn't exactly been *changed*... I guess *redone* would   
be a better word for it..."  
"Washu... tell us what you mean...!" Ayeka said through her tears, somewhat returning to   
reality.  
"Something about the way you just were suddenly sobbing about your father's death didn't   
quite make sense," Washu said. "I can't even remember how the conversation started, just that you   
were suddenly crying. Right?"  
Ayeka's eyes took on a strange look as this reality set in.  
"Yeah," Washu continued. "You were just suddenly sobbing about it. I suspected   
something was wrong with that... But I guess I should have known... Oh, how can I explain this?   
I'll start with this, I guess... This little device-" She pulled out a small, blue, metallic disc and held it   
up for them to see "-The Washu-Time, was a small device I finished a few months ago. I suspected   
something wrong with the time-continuum, so I used this, and it detected something wrong with   
normal time passage.  
"At first, I suspected that perhaps someone had altered history from the past. But then I   
realized that if they had altered history in the past, the future would have changed and I wouldn't   
have suspected time alterations in the first place. That's when I checked actual time passage versus   
time passage in this universe. We've lost one second in this universe."  
"I don't get it," Tenchi said, rubbing his hair.  
"Apparently, according to the data I've gathered, someone has actually undone time from a   
point in the past to the present and *restarted* time from that past point. They have *redone*   
history in 'fast motion', if you will... In other words, history has been reformed... The past two   
thousand years or so have been redone in the second we've lost."  
Everyone started at Washu, dumbstruck.  
"Strange, I know... Not exactly the best way to do things... So whoever is influencing time   
passage has simply incredible control over the passage of time, but obviously doesn't know   
enough about it to put themselves back into the past. A six-year-old god, if you'd like to think of it   
that way."  
"So... In my real past..." Ayeka said, wiping away her tears, her eyes becoming hopeful.   
"My father didn't die? And... All that... stuff... didn't happen?"  
"In theory, no," Washu responded. "However, I'm not sure if there's any way of telling what   
our real past was... In its redoing, it has been changed, so my memory has been changed   
somewhat. Not as much as if the whoever-it-is just changed something in the past, but enough.   
So... Pretty much...we're going to have to try to right this wrong and... just... see what we come up   
with."  
"But..." Tenchi began. His thoughts moved one level deeper, and he said, "So, in theory,   
even if we undo all this damage that's been done and get our normal histories back... We could   
have it worse off, couldn't we?"  
"In theory," Washu said gravely. "For all I know, we could have all been in a torture   
chamber one inch from death and all that happy stuff... And here we are. Who knows? But we've   
got to undo this damage, because for *anyone* to use so much power as to influence time in the   
way it was influence, there has to be a really huge reason for it. And that reason might be working   
against us."  
"Question," Ryoko spoke up. "Could we still be rushing forward from that past point to   
some distant future point?"  
"Everything's still 'in theory'," Washu replied. "So, yes, we could still be in that 'one second   
of lost time'. I can't know."  
"How do we fight against this... whatever it is?" Tenchi asked. "We've got to undo the   
damage, but how? How, Washu?"  
"It might be nice to know the whole story," Washu said, sending Ayeka a soft, pleading   
glance. "Ayeka, do you think you could... Continue?"  
Ayeka sniffed and rubbed her nose, new tears spilling out of her eyes. Unable to hold back   
the tears, she threw her face into her hands and sobbed. Sasami reached over and hugged her.  
After a moment she lifted her head and opened her mouth. The words began pouring out.  
"He... he died there... and Sasami and I fled..."  
  
CHAPTER 4  
Ayeka held her hurting sides, sure she would die of this before she died of explosions or   
mean men. Sasami laid on the ground beside her, panting, holding her sides as well.  
They were relatively safe here, she reasoned. This grass was extremely huge; taller than   
most men. Taller than two little girls, certainly, unless they just happened to grow an extra five   
feet or so.  
"Sah... Sasami," Ayeka managed between her hard breathing. "How deh... did you knuh...   
knowhhh?"  
"I duh... don't know, Ayeh... Ayeka!" Sasami said between breaths.  
The two had run as fast as their small feet could carry them. Away from the palace, away   
from their bloody father, away from their home, the explosions, the war, the little dots in the sky.   
Just away. They hadn't cared where; they just needed to get away.  
They had run for what seemed hours before they had found this small clearing and had   
plopped down to rest their burning legs and soothe their aching sides. They had collapsed and let   
the ground hug them and comfort them. Now the sweet air, running in and out of their lungs,   
brought relief to their aches and burns.  
"You must hah... Have some idea...?"  
Sasami shook her head, her eyelids halfway down. Her fatigue was heavy on her, Ayeka   
realized. Ayeka had wanted to run as long as she could, but Sasami was growing tired, and... and..  
And the realization that they would be spending the night alone... in the dark... occured to   
her. This thought chilled her to the bone... Staying out *here*, all alone, with no one to protect   
them... With all the night animals and sounds around... all the...  
She pushed these thoughts away, realizing that they must be putting a fearful look on her   
face. She had to be strong for Sasami. Sasami was just six. Ayeka could admit to herself that she   
was terribly scared, so she could only imagine what this nightmare must be like to poor little   
Sasami, who had only faced six years of life... Who had lived all of this six years of life in palace   
comfort... Who... Who was afraid of the dark, as well...  
*I'm not afraid of the dark,* Ayeka thought to herself, pulling her strength together as best   
she could. She knew it wasn't true; "I'm not afraid of the dark" is a very easy thing to say in the   
daylight, but it is often hard to convince yourself of when you are in the darkness, alone, and   
young...  
Stupid... stupid...  
Ayeka's shoulders slumped, her back arched over, and her breath escaped her. The reality   
of all this suddenly sunk in on her in one powerful wave. All along the day had seemed just like   
some dream from which you might awaken at any given moment, but suddenly, sitting here in this   
quiet, catching her breath, the realization that this was real sunk in. Her shoulders began to shake   
as a small tear escaped her eye.  
"Don't cry, sis," a tiny voice said to her.  
"Sasami..." Ayeka said in a shaking voice.  
"It's okay, sis, I'm scared too," Sasami said, standing up and hugging her sister. Ayeka fell   
into her sister's arms and began to cry very hard.  
*So much for being the big brave sister,* she thought. *Here I am balling my eyes out,   
while Sasami does the comforting...* But she didn't much mind having a shoulder to cry on.  
They didn't move from the clearing. They were drained of energy and simply didn't want to   
move on. Where they would go they had no idea; they didn't know where the palace was   
anymore, and they didn't know where anywhere else was. Running out in this huge grass had   
completely disoriented them.  
They were cut on every exposed inch of skin. They hadn't noticed this before, but now, as   
night drew near, they noticed the firey little lines all over their bodies. The grass, sharp and   
wicked, had cut them as they had plowed through it. The cuts weren't very deep, but like paper   
cuts, they held a stinging pain with them.  
They sat in silence as the light dwindled away. They talked quietly and nervously. Finally,   
the last bit of day washed out and they were alone, in the dark.  
Things were so much louder in the dark, it seemed. The crickets sung their song, which   
rung out from the land loudly. The wind rushing over them made the grass-tops sway, making a   
hissing sort of sound, but they were protected from the wind itself. It was cold enough without a   
cool breeze.  
The two sisters moved together and put their arms around each other, not only to draw   
more heat, but to draw strength, courage, and comfort. It had been a hard enough day, and now   
they were going to spend it out HERE, when they were accustomed to comfortable palace rooms   
every night.  
It got colder and colder as the night progressed, and Ayeka could not sleep. Sometime late   
into the night she felt Sasami leaning heavier and heavier onto her, until the little girl did not   
move. Ayeka looked at Sasami's small face, which glowed with a milky tone from the moon,   
whose light was broken only by the swaying grass overhead. It was marred with grass cuts all over   
it, but there was a peaceful, almost happy look on her face. Here eyes were closed; she was asleep.  
Ayeka suddenly forgot the fearful things around her; Sasami needed her, she thought to   
herself. She had to take care of her little sister. Ayeka smile.  
"Little Sasami," she whispered. "I love you."  
  
CHAPTER 5  
"So you have no idea what could be causing all of this?"  
Washu typed a little more on her holotop before looking up and responding, "No. No idea.   
The supernatural boogeyman."  
"Why would anyone want to.." Ayeka began, but was interrupted by a knock at the door to   
the house. Everyone paused and looked away from Washu towards the door. They had been in a   
state of shock, learning that their pasts had been changed, but now, upon receiving stimuli that   
seemed to confirm the existence of an outside world, the shock lessened. Nobayuki got up and   
answered the door.  
"Somethin' weird seem hap'nin over here?" the man, a complete stranger, asked.  
"Somewhat," Nobayuki responded. "...Why?"  
"I jes had one heck of a strange dream," the man responded. "An' I woke up, looked at my   
ceiling, and... You'll think I'm crazy... But I had a vision that told me to come talk to you people.   
Weird, huh?"  
Nobayuki stared at the man uneasily, unsure as to what to do. Was the man crazy? Or was   
something wrong? Had he been... sent? To help them? What was the purpose of all this? Or was   
Nobayuki just hallucinating?  
"Did your vision or dream tell you that anything was wrong?"  
"Yeah... something about time..."  
Nobayuki ushered the man inside. "Come in," he said. "Come in." He led the man over to   
the couch and had him sit down. Ryoko went into the kitchen and fetched some tea for the man.   
The man took it and thanked her, then looked uneasily at the group, unsure as to what to do.  
"Did I hear something about a dream?" Katsuhito asked.  
"Yes, sir," the man responded. "Jes up and dreamed the darndest thing."  
"Perhaps you could relate this dream to us?" Katsuhito asked, pushing his glasses up on his   
nose.  
"Oh, sir, I remember it plain as day," the man responded. "Yeah, heck yeah I could tell ya."  
"Perhaps, first, though, you could tell us your name?"  
"Oh! Sure. My name's George. I was born in America, but my parents moved to Japan.   
Heh... I've only lived in Japan about eight or nine years, so my Japanese is still scratchy."  
"We noticed," Nobayuki said, and Katsuhito cleared his throat, a clear indication to 'shut   
up'.  
"Sorry," George responded.  
"No problem at all," Katsuhito said with a smile. "Now, about your dream."  
"Yeah," the man said. "Darndest dream. I was jes closin' my eyes while I was readin' a   
book... Really great book, but I got sleepy... Ya know... And quick as anything here comes this   
strange dream... I was asleep for, what, ten minutes? But the dream seemed like it had lasted for   
hours. Strangest thing... Then came the vision..."  
"It does sound very strange," Katsuhito said, then asked Ryoko if she could bring him some   
tea as well. "Care to tell us the dream?"  
"Yeah," George responded. He held the cup up to his lips, took a sip, then held the cup   
there, as if preparing to drink some more. His eyes took on a distant look, an almost unfocused   
look, and, in a low, strange voice, George began.  
"Well... See... It was something like this. I guess it all started with those two little girls   
waking up and going into that forest..."  
  
CHAPTER 6  
Ayeka frowned. She was soaking wet.  
So much for the 'beautiful, twinkling dew' in the morning. In grass as tall as this, it was   
more like a morning walk-through shower. All of the grass was soaking wet, and walking through   
it soaked the walker. Ayeka and Sasami were dripping with dew.  
The trees came unexpectantly. The little girls, walking through grass that might as well have   
been a small forest, could not see the trees until they were practically upon them.  
The grass broke off rather suddenly. They emerged into a darkened forest with almost no   
grass anywhere. The ground was covered with dead and decaying leaves.  
Coming out of the grass was a wonderful relief in some aspects, and terrible in others. In   
the grass they had soaked themselves, sure, but the grass had saved them from the wind. The   
morning cool was bad enough, being soaked, but the wind against their wet bodies practically   
froze them.  
The two came out into the forest and stood there shivering, not sure exactly what to do. The   
trees blocked out most of the sun, which made it even colder, and Ayeka was sure this would   
hinder their clothes' attempt to dry, but she was sure they wouldn't get dry in the grass, so   
movement into the forest was, she decided, the best thing to do.  
They moved along into the forest. The wind bit at them and made them cold, but,   
thankfully, it dried them quickly. The wind began to receed later in the morning, and the sun   
became stronger and broke through the trees. Both girls, nearly dry but still chilled, were thankful   
as the sun hit their cold skin and warmed it.  
The forest was quiet, save for birds that sat unseen in the trees and sung their songs.   
Nothing seemed to move. There was not a living thing in sight...  
Ayeka and Sasami were terribly hungry. After their run the day before, the long night last   
night, and their walking this morning without food, their energy began to draw slack and their   
stomachs rumbled like earthquakes. The thought of food had crossed Ayeka's mind a few times   
before, but now it was the only thing on her mind.  
There was vegetation everywhere, but Ayeka had no idea what was edible and what wasn't.   
She had learned, in her thus far short life, that some plants were poisonous, but she didn't know   
which one was and which one wasn't. They all looked like normal plants to her; none of them had   
black spots or spines or something which made the plant *seem* poisonous. She had always   
though that there would be a certain look about the plant that would at least *hint* that it   
contained poisons, but none of these plants looked poisonous...  
*Maybe,* Ayeka thought. *None of these plants are poisonous. Maybe this is a good   
forest... Maybe it only makes good fruit.*  
The thought of just trying out some fruit had begun to tickle Ayeka's mind when they   
stumbled upon a log cabin. It was quite unexpected; it had been hidden well. Ayeka had seen no   
signs of life in the surrounding area (perhaps if she had been a hunter she would have seen some   
igns, but she was not a hunter). Then, upon coming to one side of a thick hedge, she had seen the   
house.  
The house was set into the hedge, an almost-complete circle which ran about 9/10ths of the   
way around it. The huge hedge seemed like a sort of fence around the cabin, Ayeka thought. It   
was quite romantic in a child's-fantasy sort of way.  
The two girls, hungry like never before (they had never seen poverty; they had never seen a   
mealtime without food on the table in endless abundance), decided that they should investigate,   
even if it was dangerous. There might be some evil person in there, but they almost didn't care at   
that point.  
They stepped into the circle-of-a-hedge and onto the cabin's grounds. The space enclosed   
by the hedge looked much larger as viewed from inside, Ayeka noticed. She and Sasami walked   
up to the door.  
"Knock," Ayeka said to Sasami. She was afraid to knock herself, but would not admit it.  
"You knock," Sasami said, fear tinging her voice.  
Ayeka reached up a shaking hand and knocked timidly. When the knock was met with no   
answer, she began pounding on the door much harder. This time the door seemed to fling itself   
open as she was in mid-swing for another knock. Her hand hit the air, and she looked up to see an   
old man with a huge beard and old, tattered clothes.  
"Hullo," he said in a rough, hoarse voice, after inspecting the two girls a moment. "Whut do   
yer want?"  
"Sir," Ayeka said in an almost pleading voice. "We're very hungry..."  
"Uren't yer two fr'm the paluce?" he asked, still standing in the doorway, preventing Ayeka   
from seeing in. "Th' Emperur's dughters?"  
"Yes, yes," Ayeka said. Then, ponting to herself, she said, "I'm Ayeka." She pointed to   
Sasami. "She's Sasami."  
"Yus," the man responded. "Yuh said yer hunry, uh? Gut s'm food, if'n yuh cin eat it, after   
hav'n paluce food."  
"We could eat anything, sir," Ayeka said, ready to jump right past him and dig in. "We've   
been running since yesterday and haven't had anything to eat and.."  
"A war goin' on, isn't there?" the man asked, unmoving.  
"Yes," Ayeka responded, the eagerness for food building in her to a level that made her   
almost jump with impatience.  
"Why uren't yuh two somewh're safe?" he asked. "What're yuh doin' hure in this furest?"  
"I..." The picture of her father, broken and bleeding on the ground, returned to her. She   
broke out in gooseflesh and felt a tear move down her cheek. "Our father... The... They..."  
"Uh, it's uhkay," the man responded. "Dun't need tuh cry, young miss. C'mon in, gut s'm   
food for yuh."  
Ayeka wiped away her tears and followed the man into the one-room cabin. It was very   
neat, she thought, for a dirty little cabin. To the right was a huge bed set into the far corner. The   
table was set in the middle of the room, with one far end against the far wall. To the right was a   
stove, which was close to a pair of huge shelves, which held food, cooking utinsels, eating   
utinsels, and nearly everything else on them. Right in front of them was a huge rug from the skin   
of some animal, and hung up on the walls were the heads of various large animals.  
The cabin was filled with the smell of cooking food. The huge man ushered Ayeka and   
Sasami to the table. Only then did he realize that he only had one chair set there. He dragged a   
rocking chair out of one corner and set it by the table. Ayeka and Sasami sat down and stared at   
him expectantly.  
"Muh name's Humyah," the man said. "Named aftur my daddy, was I. Thuh food won't be   
good, like yer paluce food, but I reckon if'n yer hungry, yu'll eat it anyway. Eh?"  
"Yes, sir," Ayeka said, shifting in her seat. It was very comfortable, but her stomach hurt   
from want of food.  
The man brought two bowls of stew over to the two girls, and two spoons. "Lut me go out   
'n get suhm goat milk for yuh," he said, and left the cabin.  
The food was nearly gone as soon as it had been set on the table. Humyah had made the   
food sound bad, which Ayeka wouldn't have minded; after all, it would be food in her stomach.   
She could have handled nearly anything, but this food was actually really good. It had some sort   
of tender but amazingly good meat in it, it had vegetables (somewhat like earth potatoes and   
carrots) in it, and other things. It was really strong, but Ayeka really liked it. It had a sort of 'home-  
made' taste to it, if you will, that could not be found in the palace food.  
Also, it was food, so it was good. If Ayeka had eaten raw squirrel that day she would have   
sworn it tasted like something from heaven (had she known what a squirrel was).  
When Humyah came back into the cabin he had a small container in his hands. He poured   
white milk from the container into two cups, which he gave to the two girls, who drank it happily.  
All the while old Humyah kept a straight face. Ayeka did not see him smile, which she   
found somewhat disturbing, but she disregarded. He was a lonely old man, she reasoned, and had   
probably almost forgotten how to smile.  
After another helping or two (Ayeka felt guilty eating so much, but she was truly hungry),   
both girls leaned back in their seats.  
"That was the best thing I ever ate," Sasami chirped happily.  
A small smile spread across the man's face. "Thank yuh, S'sami. Glad yuh like it." 


	2. Part 2

"You're welcome," Sasami said with a smile.  
"Yes, thank you so much," Ayeka agreed. "This was so good... So good after not eating..."  
"How long yuh two gurls not eat?" Humyah asked.  
"Uhmmm..." Ayeka paused a moment to consider this. "About a day."  
"I've been two'n hulf dauys without food, muhself," he said.  
The two girls stared at him, mystified. Neither of them had ever missed a meal; meals came   
three times a day. The idea of missing two and a half days of meals was, to them, about the   
equivilant to cutting off their fingers, one at a time, then cutting off their arms and legs, one at a   
time.  
"Wow... I'm sorry," Sasami said, almost sadly. "You must have been hungry."  
"Yuh bet I wus," Humyah said with a laugh. He sat back onto his bed. "But yuh see, life   
goes on... Ut really does... Und I shot me a huge animul, likes o' which I'd nevur seen bufore...   
Nearly died draggin' 'm back hure to cuhk... And..."  
Sasami and Ayeka sat and listened, enthralled, as the old man told them what he'd done. He   
had survived this period of hunger and had had enough meat left over to eat like a king (not quite,   
Ayeka had thought, when he had said that) for weeks afterward.  
After he finished this tale, Sasami had requested that he tell them another story. The old   
man had; in fact, he told them stories all day, until night fell. He told them in great detail, using   
exaggerated gestures. In all this Sasami and Ayeka could see that he was a very lonely man. All   
these years, all the great things he had done he had told no one, for there had been no one to tell.   
Now, he was having nearly the time of his life telling his life's story to his little guests.  
When supper time came, he made them some supper, which they ate with less greed than   
they had before. Again they thanked him.  
"Yuh two bettur stay here until thuh war ends," he said. "I c'n take care of yuh two, not tuh   
worry, und when th' war ends I'll take yuh back to th' paluce myself, if'n I can find it."  
"Where is it?" Ayeka asked.  
The old man's eyes took on a confused look. He shrugged his shoulders. "Thuh heck if I   
know, but I c'n't let yuh two out there tuh look fer it yerselfs."  
Ayeka and Sasami, for the first time in the last day, felt secure. Even though this man   
looked like he had lost most of his strength to age, he was an adult, and he knew what to do. He   
knew how to survive. He must know everything, Ayeka reasoned, if he could survive two and a   
half days of hunger.  
The old man made Ayeka and Sasami a small bed on the floor with the huge rug that laid   
beside the door. He told them that in the morning he would build them a better bed so they   
wouldn't have to sleep on the dirty rug anymore (it was really dirty; he had flipped it over so they   
could sleep on the clean side which had rested against the floor for years).  
Sleep was quick in coming.  
  
CHAPTER 7  
Ayeka stared at George, wide-eyed.  
"You... really dreamed that?!" she asked, a note of unbelief touching her voice.  
"Honest to God," George responded. "Honest to God. Every bit of it."  
"Those two girls..." Ayeka pointed to herself and Sasami. "That was us. We were the girls   
who found the cabin."  
This time it was George who became wide-eyed. "R...Really?!" he asked. "You're serious?!"  
"Yes," Ayeka responded. "We found old Humyah... We... Oh my..."  
"Er..." George said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.  
"Did you dream anything after that?" Ayeka asked, leaning forward in her seat. Sasami had   
leaned forward as well. They both waited for George's answer, looking like a men waiting to hear   
news about their wives that are in surgery.  
"Yes," George said solemnly. "I... know what happened. Very, very sad, I'll agree."  
"Poor Humyah..." Ayeka sighed. "Poor, poor Humyah... What did he ever do to deserve...   
*that*?"  
George simply shook his head and said nothing.  
"What?" Nobayuki ventured. "What happened?"  
George, Ayeka, and Sasami looked at Nobayuki, as if each of them were expecting one of   
the others to tell him. Nobayuki only stared back at the three sets of eyes that were fixed on him.  
"You can continue your dream," Katsuhito suggested to George.  
George looked at Katsuhito. "Right," he said. "Well, see, the two little girls... Ayeka and   
Sasami... Were pretty tired. They slept deeply that night. The old man was sleeping pretty deeply   
himself. None of them noticed until it was almost too late..."  
  
CHAPTER 8  
(((Singing a song, watching the fire crackle... Happiness! Where are the marshmallows? I   
can't see them... Geeze... The smoke is thick, isn't it? Oh well. Where did those marshmallows go?   
Sasami! Don't be a hog, now. Give some to me... Sasami! Give me some! Mother... tell Sasami to   
give me some marshmallows! And could you get this smoke out of my face? Ha, ha, Sasami, I told   
you you have to share! This smoke is... *gag*... What the... I...)))  
What the...  
She shook her head, drowning out the dreams. The smell of smoke was terribly strong, and   
it was very hot, and she could still hear the fire crackling from her dream, and...  
And she realized it wasn't a dream.  
Her eyes opened in a flash.  
"FIRE!"  
The man practically jumped out of his bed. He stood by his bed for a moment, looking   
around frantically. Then he ran to the door and flung it open and disappeared.  
There was no fire inside, Ayeka could see, but the red tongues of inferno blazed outside the   
window. The same thought that had struck the man struck Ayeka: Forest fire. Doom. Death in the   
fire.  
The man ran back in. He shook his head. "Don't understand it," he said, sweat on his face   
already. "No furest fire... The outside's burnin'..." He shook his head again. "Yuh gurls get outta   
here! Place looks ready tuh cullapse!"  
Ayeka woke Sasami and pulled her out of their makeshift bed. She dragged the sleepy little   
girl outside with her and brought her a respectable distance away from the cabin. Then they both   
turned and watched as old Humyah began to drag everything out of his cabin that he could.  
Humyah had been right; the place did look ready to collapse. The outside was charred   
black and the wood looked almost completely burned. Smoke rose from the blaze and lifted high   
into the air, carrying ashes and small, glowing sparks.  
Humyah struggled more and more out of his cabin with each load. He had managed to   
bring his chair, bed, and table out, and he went back in for more.  
Ayeka and Sasami watched, horrified. They both hoped and prayed that the old man   
wouldn't get hurt, because he was not only the only person they had to tell them what to do and   
help them survive, he was also their friend (or at least they considered him a friend).  
There was a crack, and Humyah, inside, shot his head up to look at the roof. He made a   
motion, as if to dart for the door, but speed was not his thing; he was an old man.  
The roof came down. A huge beam from his roof slammed his back and sent him to the   
ground. It was burning and smoking. Humyah shouted in incredible pain and tried desperately to   
push the massive thing off of him, but it was too big. The weight of it held him down while the fire   
on it burned him.  
Ayeka and Sasami watched, horrified. Neither of them wanted to see it, but they were   
frozen in sheer terror. They watched as the man tried desperately to get to his hands and knees,   
calling out in pain. They watched as his hair and beard burned right off, they watched as his skin   
turned black, and they watched as he began bleeding profusely and choking out blood.  
They watched him burn alive.  
Both were sobbing. Terror held them captive in its powerful paralysis; they didn't move a   
muscle. Ayeka held Sasami in front of her, her hands holding Sasami's tiny, shaking hands. They   
watched as Humyah burned and began turning black all over.  
Soon the rest of the cabin fell in, and all sight of Humyah was lost. Nothing could be seen   
of him. Nothing was left to confirm that he had ever existed, except for his bed, his table, and his   
chair. And this huge, raging fire.  
Both stayed in their places and watched the fire. It raged and raged, and, of all sickening   
thoughts, both realize that, somewhere, deep in those burning logs and cinders, was Humyah,   
burning, his skin black and bubbling, his skeleton showing through, and...  
Ayeka fainted. Sasami bent down and tried to wake her sister. The terrible fear that Ayeka   
had died washed over Sasami, and she threw herself on Ayeka's body, sobbing, begging Ayeka to   
awaken. Ayeka, however, did not wake up. Sasami, eventually, drifted off into a deep and tortured   
sleep.  
All night she was plagued by nightmares. She could see old Humyah pushing at the beam   
to no avail, the fire burning his skin. In the nightmares, she could see Humyah begging her for   
help (which he hadn't done in real life, but which he did in every nightmare she had that night). He   
was calling her name, begging for help, but she could not move to help him...  
"Sasami! Sasami! My God, MY GOD! For God's sake help me, Sasami! GOD! HELP ME!"  
"I can't!" Sasami sobbed desperately. "I can't move!"  
"Sasami! I fed you when you were hungry! I gave you shelter! I told you I'd take you back   
to the palace, everything! I'm dying, Sasami! I'M DYING! HELP ME!"  
"I CAN'T!" Sasami screamed, and she awoke.  
Tears streamed out of her eyes. She sobbed until there were no tears.  
The fire was still burning, quite small now, but still going. It was morning; the air was thick   
with smoke. It wasn't cold; the warmth from the fire could still be felt.  
A sickening, abstract thought presented itself to Sasami's young mind: *Even in the end,   
Humyah was helping me... He's part of that fire that's warming me...*  
Sasami turned to her sister, whose eyes were still closed. Sasami grabbed her sister's face.   
"Ayeka! Wake up! Please!"  
"S...Sasami..." Ayeka said, her lips barely moving.  
"Oh!" Sasami cried. "You're not dead...!"  
"Might as well be," Ayeka mumbled. "Where... Oh, no."  
The smell of smoke brought everything back to Ayeka. The night before, the fire...   
Humyah, burning... Sickening, gruesome thoughts, and then now.  
"Oh, he's dead..." Sasami cried.  
"I know," Ayeka said. "I know."  
She comforted her little sister for a while until she stopped crying. Then she stood and said,   
"Sasami, it's time we move on. We're going to survive. Even if we have to go two and a half days   
without food."  
Sasami stood beside her. "Yes," she said. "We're going to survive!"  
Ayeka gave a short, choked laugh. "Yes. Now let's get moving."  
Before they did, though, Sasami suggested that they do something, anything, in   
rememberance of Humyah, who had greatly helped them. Neither of them knew how to perform a   
funeral, so all they could think to do was join hands and say a few words about the old man.  
They both realized that all they knew about him was what they had learned the past day,   
but that was enough. Their little 'service' was enough to make any religious leader proud.  
They broke away from the fire and hugged each other.  
'We're going to survive!' rang in both of their ears.  
  
CHAPTER 9  
"Poor Humyah," Mihoshi said with a sad sigh.  
"The dream ended with the two girls leaving the cabin and starting back on their journey,   
wherever that was to," George said, putting down his empty cup of tea. He folded his arms and   
leaned back into his chair, finished talking.  
"And then you had the vision," Katsuhito said, his voice tinged with something that made it   
seem as though he had spoken from a large distance.  
"Yeah," George said, his eyes taking the distant look again.  
"Strange, it was really strange," Ayeka sighed. "The house had obviously been burned from   
the outside, but there was no forest fire. That cabin was *set on fire*."  
Sasami nodded in agreement with Ayeka's statement.  
"It's very obvious now that Ayeka and Sasami are the targets of this force now," Washu   
said, still typing at her keys. "Either that or we have one heck of a coincidence on our hands. But   
we don't quite know just who our enemy is."  
"Fighting an invisible enemy," Katsuhito said quietly. "One must anticipate his next move.   
But how to do this when all of this has already happened...?"  
"I would suggest going back in time," Washu said.  
"Oh, no," Tenchi said, remembering the last time he had gone back in time with one of   
Washu's time machines. They had arrived in the past when Washu had announced that she had not   
been entirely sure it would even work.  
That time had been to save his mother. Kain had gone back in time and had tried to search   
her out and kill her so all Juraian blood would be wiped out from the Earth.  
"But.." Washu said, concentrating on the screen of her holotop. "It appears some sort of   
barrier has been set up... Some sort of time barrier. It prevents anything from moving into that part   
of the timeline... It's as if, as this timeline was reconstructed, someone built a sort of armor casing   
on the inside of it to prevent... Oh, man.. This is crazy..."  
"What now?" Nobayuki asked, leaning forward.  
"Time's changing," she said. "Something wrong is being done in the past. It's not being   
reconstructed... It's simply changing from the inside. Someone has entered an unknown point in   
this universe's timeline and is changing history."  
"Oh no," Tenchi sighed.  
"Uh-oh," Nobayuki said quietly.  
All turned to him.  
"What?" Ryoko asked.  
Nobayuki shrugged, and was no more. Where he had been, sitting in the chair, became   
empty. He simply ceased to exist. No one noticed. With the timeline shifted, and Nobayuki dead   
long ago in the past, everyone knew nothing of his earlier presence. Or, more accurately, his   
earlier nonpresence.  
Perhaps if Nobayuki's disappearance had been noticed everyone would have been hurried   
in their attempt to take down this force that was altering their lives, but they didn't know, so they   
had nothing to worry about. Nobayuki's death had been accepted as a fact long ago, and that was   
that.  
"Time has been altered," Washu announced.  
"How?" Tenchi asked.  
Washu shrugged. "I have no idea. For all I know Achika could have been sitting here with   
us, going over these problems, and now she's dead. Maybe we were all clowns in a circus. Who   
knows?"  
"What do we do?" Tenchi asked.  
"We act based on what we know right at this moment and what we can find out   
scientifically. That's all we can do. We've been listening to Sasami and Ayeka's story; let's listen a   
little more. See if we can find anything out."  
"Sounds like a good idea," Ryoko said.  
"It does," George agreed.  
  
CHAPTER 10  
Our plan is working.Yes, sir.No, sir, they have not. We changed history from inside, this time.Our energy supplies are running low...Sir, sir! I'm sorry! You know that the last history change was the most important one of   
all...Well, the time reconstruction took much more energy than we had originally anticipated.   
It nearly depleted all of our supplies. We simply didn't have enough energy for another   
reconstruction, no matter how small. Time change was the only way.But... Wouldn't the Time Wall prevent any further movement back in time? I mean, I   
know that they might be able to enter through the hole, but wouldn't the Time Wall prevent any   
further movement backwards?I don't understand. 


	3. Part 3

Over on one wall was what looked like a large hole, which was covered by an enormous   
boulder from the outside. This must be where the dragon enters, Ayeka decided.  
She looked around. The walls were smooth, without holes or anything. There was no way   
she could move that boulder; there was no way forty men could move that boulder. That was out   
of the question. The only option was that tiny little hole in the wall, which was very high up.  
And under the hole was a small foothold. It was very small. A child might be able to use it   
to climb out the window, but no adults could, most likely; their large feet would slip right off.  
"Sasami, if you can get your foot on that tiny little rock up there, you can climb out," Ayeka   
said, knowing very well that if Sasami did get out...  
"Okay," Sasami said. Apparently her train of thought had not reached the place where   
Ayeka's was at the moment. Just as well. If she knew what Ayeka knew, Sasami would most likely   
not go up.  
"I'll give you a boost," Ayeka said. "As high as I can push you. If you can get your foot on   
that rock, you'll probably be able to reach the hole and climb out. Ignore the pain, Sasami... Just   
climb. Your life depends on it."  
"Right," Sasami said, a terribly grim look on her face.  
Ayeka laced her fingers together and held them knee-high. Sasami placed her left foot in   
Ayeka's hands and placed her left hand on Ayeka's shoulder.  
"Ready?" Ayeka asked. "You're going to have to jump with it."  
"I'm ready," Sasami replied.  
"Okay," Ayeka said. "One... Two... Three."  
Ayeka pushed Sasami up with all her might. Sasami's right foot caught the rock and she   
shoved herself upward, using some of the force of Ayeka's boost. Her right hand caught the edge   
of the hole.  
"Go, Sasami, climb!" Ayeka said, pushing her sister's foot higher. The little girl's foot was   
up to her shoulder now. She bent over to get a better position to push from and began pushing her   
sister's foot higher and higher as the girl got closer and closer to climbing out.  
Finally, Sasami's foot was beyond Ayeka's reach; she could not help Sasami any more. She   
watched as Sasami struggled to crawl out, crying all the while, but ignoring the terrible pain in her   
back. Ayeka prayed a soft prayer that her sister would make it out...  
Finally her feet were lost to sight. Moments later the little girl's face appeared in the hole.   
This time her face was blanketed with concern.  
*She's figured it out,* Ayeka thought to herself.  
"Ayeka...?" Sasami said, her voice shaking, sounding almost on the verge of tears. "How...   
How are you going to get out?"  
"Sasami, you're the best sister I've ever had," Ayeka responded. She did not add that Sasami   
was the only sister she had ever had. That was not necessary; if there had been one hundred   
sisters, Sasami would have been the best, and both knew it, though Sasami would be modest and   
deny it. "Get out of here. Run."  
"No, I'm not leaving you!" Sasami sobbed. She rubbed her muddy cheeks, which only   
smeared everything up. "I'm not leaving. I'll help you out."  
"There's no way you can," Ayeka responded. "Sasami, the dragon will come back to eat me   
soon, probably. You're alive; go! Go now!"  
"I'm coming back in," Sasami said, sticking her foot through the hole.  
"Don't you dare," Ayeka said. "Or I'll kill myself; I swear I will."  
Sasami turned back around. "You'll WHAT?"  
"I'm doomed anyway," Ayeka replied. "I said, if you come back in here, I'll kill myself.   
Now go. Run. Find help, just get away from here."  
"Ayeka..." Sasami cried, tears flowing freely, her small shoulders wracking in desperate   
tears. "Please don't make me leave you to the dr... dragon..."  
"Go," Ayeka said firmly, her own voice shaking. "Go."  
"Ayeka!" Sasami half-screamed, half-sobbed. "Ayeka I love you and I won't leave you!"  
"If you love me, go," Ayeka said, sitting down on a rock. "Somehow... This will be...   
resolved..."  
"Ayeka..."  
"Go," Ayeka said, a tear slipping out of her left eye.  
Sasami stared through the hole, her eyes overflowing with tears.  
"G... Go," Ayeka said in a low, dreadful tone.  
"Sis, I love you," Sasami said, then stood. Tears blurred everything in sight, but she ignored   
them. She turned and started walking away from the hole in the huge rock.  
Walking away was the hardest thing she had ever done in her life. No person her age   
should ever be forced to leave behind a sibling that they know is going to die; it's just not fair.  
She walked, putting one foot in front of the other. A sickening force of anger overwhelmed   
her. Anger, severe sadness, terrible thoughts... She wasn't sure how much she could take. She kept   
moving on and on. So many times she resisted the temptation to just turn back around and fly   
back to the hole and go back in, no matter what Ayeka had said, but Ayeka's words kept ringing   
in her ears...  
"If you love me, go."  
Yes, Sasami loved her older sister more than anything.  
*She's giving up her life for me,* Sasami thought. *It's... It's MY fault that she's going to   
die.*  
This thought filled her brain. Shaken by the sheer terror that came with that thought, she   
broke out into a desperate run. She wanted to die in that moment. She wanted to die with her sister,   
but her sister's last wish, apparently, was that her younger sister should live, and by gosh that was   
what she was going to do.  
*I'm going to survive,* Sasami thought to herself. *For Ayeka.*  
  
CHAPTER 15  
Knowing that you have given your life for someone else is a strangely bittersweet feeling.  
One the one hand, Ayeka knew she was going to die, and die horribly. She would have to   
sit in this small cave, knowing what was coming, the minutes stretching into hours, hours into   
days, whatever. She would just sit here, thinking about her impending doom, for however long it   
took the dragon to get hungry. Then he would come in here; there would be no place to run, no   
place to hide. The dragon would catch her, rip her to pieces, chew her up, swallow her.  
On the other hand, she knew that she had given her all for her little sister. The strange   
feeling of being a hero washed over her. Also the wonderful feeling that her sister would be safe   
enveloped her. Sasami would survive, she somehow knew that.  
So Ayeka sat and waited. There was nothing else to do. Occasionally she broke out into   
tears; she would never again see her sister, her father or mother... Well, perhaps she would see   
them again, eventually, in the afterlife. She knew she'd meet up with Humyah; that thought was   
comforting. She could thank him for all he had tried to do.  
She could thank the man that had taken her into his house... What was his name? It all   
seemed so distant now. Somehow, the past just didn't seem to matter. She was here, in the here and   
now, waiting for everything to end horribly.  
Waiting. Waiting for death.  
This is another thing no person so young should have to experience; waiting for death.   
Waiting for it to knock.  
Ayeka sat and waited.  
The rock covering the huge hole in the small cave moved slightly. Rock being ground   
against rock was heard.  
Tears rose in Ayeka's throat, and she held back desperate tears.  
It was time.  
  
CHAPTER 16  
"What's that?!" Tenchi asked, stopping the group.  
They all stopped and listened. They heard footsteps in the hall behind them.  
Nothing had changed. The hall was completely featureless; just a long, white hall. They had   
started running in the direction George had pointed them and just kept running. There had been a   
door or two, but other than that, nothing. They had run and run, and George had insisted that it   
was just a little farther... that this was just like his dream... That they were truly getting close.  
"Someone's coming," George said, fear creeping into his eyes.  
"We don't have time for a fight," Washu said, glancing at her small, handheld computer.   
"According to my readout something's about to change in the past, and this change will certainly   
do us no good. It seems as though Ayeka's about to die."  
Ayeka turned completely white. "Wh... What did you say?" Ayeka asked, gulping.  
"You are about to be..." Washu paused, looking over the readout several times, as if not   
believing what she were reading. "You are about to be... eaten," Washu said.  
"What?!" Ayeka shrieked.  
"Shhh," Tenchi said softly.  
"What??" Ayeka repeated in a horrified whisper.  
"I... don't... You're about to be..."  
"But... If that's in the past, hasn't it already happened?!" Ayeka asked hysterically. "I mean,   
if it's in the past, shouldn't I be dead right now?"  
"Technically, yes," Washu said, typing quickly at her computer. Far behind them, the   
footsteps could still be heard; the people were gaining. "But it appears that... Well, that the past is,   
kind of, occuring as the present occurs."  
"I don't get it," Ayeka said, drawing closer to Washu.  
"Everything about this time-changing business has been strange," Washu said, typing   
furiously at the little black device in her palm. "It appears that the past is being changed as we   
speak... It's not as if it has been undone and restructured again... This time its more like it's being   
over-recorded. Do you see what I'm saying? Everything in the past has been done, yes, but it   
appears that there is a sort of 'present' in the past which is moving along at the same rate our true   
present is moving. It is 'over-recording' the points in time in the past that it passes, and in the   
'present' in the past, you are about to be eaten."  
"...Oh," Ayeka responded softly. "So... When I'm eaten..."  
"You'll simply cease to exist in this present," Washu stated softly.  
"Wonderful," Ayeka responded.  
"Let's get moving!" Katsuhito urged them. "The people behind us are..."  
"Here!" George shouted.  
Near the back of the huge hall small dots--running men--could be seen. All watched for just   
a moment before turning and running.  
Before they even knew what was happened, laser bolts were flying by them. They streaked   
by with deadly force and speed, and everyone put all the energy they could muster into their run.  
There was a shout and a thump. Everyone turned around to see George lying on the   
ground, clutching his leg, which was bleeding profusely. Tenchi made a move to help, but George   
waved his hand.  
"Don't waste time!" George shouted. "Just GO!"  
"I could carry..." Ryoko started.  
"GO!" George shouted.  
They turned back to run, and Tenchi called over his shoulder, "You'll never be forgotten,   
George... A true hero."  
George smiled.  
"Hero, ha," he called back.  
Tenchi stopped short as something blue flashed in front of him. He took a step back and   
saw that it was the blue wall of a force field. He turned around and looked behind him. There was   
a force field wall there, too.  
They were boxed in.  
George laughed loudly and jumped to his feet. He pressed a button on a device on his leg,   
and all the blood simply ceased to exist, as if it had never been there.  
"Idiots," George laughed. "Okay, guys, you can stop your fire," he called to the men behind   
him.  
"Wha...?!" Tenchi breathed, astounded, angered. "You TRICKED us?!"  
"Sure," George replied. "Boxing you guys up in a shield that prevents use of Jurai energy   
was the easiest way to capture you."  
"But... Why do you want to capture us?!" Washu asked.  
"Easy enough," the man responded. "I work for a man who desperately wants the power of   
Tsunami, which rests in Sasami. All we have to do is use Juraian energy to extract this power, and   
then it's ours. And, since none of us own any Juraian powers, we have to steal them! Simple   
enough, isn't it?"  
"But... How can you use Juraian powers that belong to US?" Tenchi asked.  
"Using simply miraculous machines we've invented for just that purpose," George replied.   
"Well, you guys have fun in there. Your use of Juraian energy is completely blocked; there's no   
way to escape. You're stuck. Katsuhito and Tenchi, be prepared; extraction of Juraian power is   
*very* painful. See you all around."  
Ryoko pulled back her fist and slammed the force field hard, which sent blue ripples up and   
down its side. "I'll KILL you if I ever get my hands on you!" she shouted.  
George walked down the hall, ignoring her. He moved out of sight after a while.  
Tenchi tried to access Jurai powers, but as George had said, all access was cut off. He   
couldn't access even the smallest amount of power.  
"That explains it all," Washu replied, falling down to the ground and sitting with her back   
against the wall. "The attacks against Ayeka and Sasami... I guess it would be much easier to   
access the powers of Tsunami if Sasami was dead..."  
"Washu, can't you get us out of here?" Tenchi asked, sitting beside her.  
"I don't think so," Washu responded. "The only way I can think of out of here is with time   
travel, which is extremely risky without superior equipment around... And which is also somewhat   
prevented by the wall blocking movement in time."  
Washu picked up her handheld computer and flipped it on. Strange diagrams appeared   
which Tenchi did not understand. Washu turned the screen to show Tenchi. "See?" she asked,   
pointing to a line which was moving across a bar. "Time barrier... Can't move back..."  
"What's that?" Tenchi asked, pointing to a small dot on the bar.  
Washu turned her computer around quickly in her hand and looked at the screen. Her eyes   
widened. She looked back up to Tenchi, wide-eyed.  
"What?" Tenchi asked.  
Excited, Washu leaned forward and kissed Tenchi on the cheek. "GENIUS!" she shouted.   
"GENIUS!"  
"Wha... what?!" Tenchi asked, confused.  
"That's a break in their barrier!"  
"What?!"  
"That's a faulty point! We can get through the time barrier!" she exclaimed.  
"But isn't it risky?" Tenchi asked.  
"Think of the alternative," Washu responded. "If they get ahold of Tsunami's powers,   
there's almost nothing they can't do. On the other hand, if we can prevent them from getting   
Tsunami's powers, and return to our normal timeline, everything will be normal. So even if you   
die, if we could succeed, you could still live."  
"So, I'm the one to be moved back in time?" Tenchi asked, feeling his chest become heavy.  
"Yes, naturally," Washu responded. "There's only one problem..."  
"What? What?" Sasami asked eagerly.  
"I'm just the tiniest bit short of energy," Washu said, her mouth forming a crooked smile.   
"To insure that Tenchi gets where he's supposed to be, in one piece... Or, anyways, to *relatively*   
insure all that... Nothing is certain in time travel... I need just a bit more energy... I have access to   
large amounts of energy in my lab, but that's not enough. I need just a tiny..."  
Ryoko pulled a couple batteries out of her pocket. "I stole these from Ayeka," she said with   
a tiny laugh. "Will they help any?"  
"They will if I can find a way to convert them to the kind of energy I need," Washu said   
with a smile.  
"Oh, Ryoko!" Ayeka said in glee. "I never thought I'd be so happy that you stole something   
from me!"  
Ryoko laughed. "Never thought you'd be happy, period," she said, handing the batteries to   
Washu. "I thought you'd be trying to fight me right here and now."  
"You stole the batteries, so what?" Ayeka responded, a strangely insane smile crossing her   
lips. "I'm about to be eaten; what can I say?"  
Ryoko laughed again.  
Washu took some other device out of her pocket and pried it open as quickly as she could.   
The others watched as she furiously messed with the insides, changing things around, hooking   
different wires together, moving pieces around. Finally she hooked the two batteries to the device   
and set it on the ground.  
"This... should... work," she said, placing emphasis on the word 'should'. "I'm not sure   
though. You sure you want to try?" she asked Tenchi.  
"Did I have a choice?" Tenchi responded somewhat gloomily.  
"No," Washu replied with a silly grin. "I just wanted to make sure I had a clear conscience if   
you died; at least I somewhat offered you an out."  
Tenchi laughed. "Send me wherever you want, Washu."  
Washu nodded. "Hold on. If I'm right, this is going to be a really bumpy ride for you."  
  
CHAPTER 16  
The grinding stopped. The hole in the side of the cave was wide open. The sunlight flooded   
in and blinded Ayeka, whose eyes were completely accustomed to the dark.  
She stared at the hole. She had cried her eyes dry. Now she stared, waiting for her death.  
Then, her death stepped into the doorway. The huge dragon, its wicked scales reflecting the   
sun like a thousand little mirrors; its massive wings like sails on a boat; its tail, like some sea   
serpent; the huge feet, with those huge talons that had left the nasty, gaping holes in her back; the   
small but powerful arms, each finger clawed as well; its gaping jaws, which dripped saliva and   
boasted huge teeth; and its black, deadly eyes. That was what her death looked like.  
The dragon snarled. It pulled its wings in to its body and ducked its head so it could fit in   
through the huge hole, which was somewhat small to a creature that size. For a moment it was   
almost completely dark again, as the dragon pressed its way in.  
For the tiniest moment Ayeka was overcome with the desire to fight the thing, but it died   
quickly. How could she possibly fight it, and would it do any good against a thing like that? No, it   
was hopeless.  
Ayeka sat and waited.  
The dragon finally pushed its way past the door. The light streamed in behind the dragon.   
The light, coming from its back, gave it a strange effect, as if the beams of light were originating   
from the dragon itself, as if it were some heavenyly being.  
The dragon snarled again, this time a puff of smoke coming out of each nostril. It made a   
few shuffling steps towards Ayeka, its head ducked low so it wouldn't hit the ceiling.  
Deep within its throat there was a rumbling, a combination of hard sounds and high sounds,   
which seemed to produce a voice which said:  
"Where has the other gone?"  
"I helped her escape," Ayeka said defiantly, rising to her feet. "I don't care what you do to   
me, I want you to know that I helped my sister escape, so HA!"  
"Human," the grating, ugly, growling voice seemed to say. "I'm going to rip your body like   
a ragdoll before I devour you."  
Ayeka tried to keep the defiant look on her face, but knew she was most likely failing. The   
words pronounced struck complete terror in her, and she knew it very well. She knew the dragon   
was not joking; she was to have a painful death before being devoured.  
One clawed foot came up. The dragon opened its toes, as if showing off its huge claws. If   
huffed and smoke came out of its nostrils again.  
Ayeka braced herself.  
The claw swung, and her eyes snapped shut.  
There was no impact. Instead there was a high, howling scream. Ayeka felt something   
splatter all over her face and arms. Her eyes flew open and took in what had happened.  
The a huge, clawed dragon toe lay quite far away from her. She followed a trail of black   
blood to the dragon's foot, which was missing one toe. By the toe was a boy, perhaps 17 or 18,   
with spiked black hair and a rat tail coming out the back of his hair. He was very tall and tan, and   
in his hand he held a blue sword, which shined with some sort of angelic force.  
Ayeka crawled away from the scene and watched the events as they unfolded.  
The dragon's head has whipped up as it had screamed in pain, Ayeka knew, for she could   
see a place in the ceiling of rock where rock had been knocked loose.  
Now the dragon sucked in a huge breath, drawing its head back. The boy's sword   
disappeared and he crossed his arms in front of him. The dragon's head snapped forward and   
opened its mouth, breathing out the breath it had brought in. A river of fire blew out from its   
mouth, and Ayeka's world was surrounded by fire.  
*I'm dead,* was the first thought that crossed her mind, but then she noticed that she was   
not burning, only uncomfortably warm. She looked around. The fire, coming at them in a constant   
stream, seemed to split in half a few feet in front of the boy, flow around him in two separate   
pillars, flow straight past Ayeka, one pillar of fire on each side of her, and on to the other wall of   
the cave.  
Eventually the dragon lost its breath. It drew back its head, sucking in another, knowing   
that the boy couldn't keep his power shield up forever. The boy, not waiting for the dragon to   
draw in its breath, jumped incredibly high and threw the sword over his head in a shining arc. The   
blade slid through the dragon's stomach. Fire spilled out of the incision, and the as the creature   
screamed fire blasted out of its mouth, bounced off the ceiling, and burned its face.  
The boy let himself fall, keeping the sword planted in the dragon's body. It made a cut all   
the way down to the bottom of its legs. The dragon howled and screamed and began to thrash   
wildly. The boy was kicked and slammed into the opposite wall.  
Amazingly, he got back up and charged the dragon again. The dragon was trying to effect a   
retreat out of the cave, where it would stand a chance in a fight, but it took another nasty cut. It   
howled and kicked the boy again. He landed on his back this time a few feet away from Ayeka.  
"You stay here," the boy told her. Ayeka nodded.  
The boy rushed over to the dragon, who was halfway out the door. He raised his sword and   
shouted a war cry. Ayeka could see the sword grow brighter and brighter as the boy powered his   
sword more and more. Then he made a leap that was simply impossible and planted his sword into   
the dragon's heart. Beams of energy blasted out of the stab wound and hit the walls of the cave,   
which caused explosions. Blood sprayed everywhere in a tidal wave and soaked everything.  
The dragon gave a terrible scream and fell backwards out of the hole in the wall. It gave on   
last terrible cry before lying still on its back. Ayeka watched in amazement as the creature faded   
from view and was gone, as if it had never been there.  
The boy walked back over to the trembling Ayeka and helped her to her feet. "It'll be okay   
soon," he told her. "Let me help you find somewhere to stay. This nightmare is almost over.   
Okay?"  
Ayeka nodded, and burst into tears.  
Somehow, with this boy, she felt... safe.  
The boy took her into his arms and hugged her for a long, long time as she cried her heart   
out. She cried out her fear of death, her insecurity, her hunger, her anger, her sadness, her worry...   
She cried out her whole heart.  
"It's okay," the boy said at length. "Now, we've got to hurry. Your sister is still in danger;   
we need to find somewhere to put you until things can be changed."  
She looked through tear-swollen eyes, not knowing what to say.  
"When things get... changed," the boy explained. "You won't remember a single thing   
about any of this. It will be like it had never happened."  
This boy spoke with a strange knowledge, it seemed, and Ayeka trusted him completely. It   
was an almost irrational trust, but Ayeka had looked her death in the eye and survived, so   
rationality didn't amount to a hill of beans to her at the moment.  
"AYEKA!"  
Both heads snapped toward the hole in the wall. There stood little Sasami.  
Ayeka fainted. She never remembered being carried away.  
  
CHAPTER 17  
"His work there is done," Washu responded.  
"Who did you say that dragon was?" Katsuhito asked.  
"I did a scan on him," Washu explained. "Using a probe I'd sent with Tenchi. That wasn't   
exactly a dragon. You see, a whole bunch of people are in this plot to take Tsunami's powers, and   
that dragon was one of them. Using superior time-manipulation techniques, the likes of which I've   
never seen before, these people are actually turning the past into some kind of fantasy make-  
believe world. They assume great power over their surroundings... Apparenly this guy made   
himself a dragon. His goal was to kill Sasami, but she escaped..."  
"Why didn't you just let me die?" Ayeka asked. "You wouldn't have known, and I wouldn't   
have known, and when you got the timeline back to normal everything would have been   
wonderful and I'd be alive again."  
"You have a link with Sasami," Washu explained. "It's very weird, I know... But you have a   
certain link with her that that dragon-man would have traced. He would have caught right up with   
Sasami, caught her, killed her quickly, and then everything would be done with. We'd be beat, end   
of story. I thought you were listening when I explained this?"  
"I was worrying," Ayeka replied, blushing a little. "It's not every day that you're faced with   
the fact that at any given second you might cease to exist. I was a little preoccupied with worry."  
"Understandable," Washu replied. "Now we've got to try to find out, very quickly, who the   
leader of this great plot is, or find some way to undo all of this, or whatever."  
"How do we undo all this?" Katsuhito asked.  
"There's got to be some way," Washu replied. "We've got to cut off the damage from the   
source. But I don't know where the source is, or how to cut it off..."  
"I wonder," Katsuhito mused. "Perhaps George is the leader."  
Washu's eyes flicked over to Katsuhito. "What did you say?"  
"Perhaps George is the leader in this plot to take Tsunami's power," Katsuhito stated.  
"How do you come up with that?" Washu asked. "Honestly, my guess would have been that   
he was just a pawn used to gather all of us together and trap us."  
"He was wearing a bracelet with what looked like a gem on it," Katsuhito said. "Somewhat   
like what Ryoko wears. At the time I saw it I had dismissed it as a fancy charm or something;   
perhaps a good luck charm. Perhaps none of you noticed that, as he walked off, after he had   
trapped us, the gem on his wrist was glowing."  
"What?" Washu asked. "Really?!"  
"Yes."  
Washu tapped her little computer for a moment. "Okay, I'm looking at a log real quick...   
This little device was set on 'autospy'... a little function that causes it to track certain present   
conditions, even while off... It tracks air pressure and content, loud sounds, the such, and, most   
importantly, energy signatures." She paused for a moment. "Ah! Yes! Here it is. Roughly around   
the time that we found out that all his 'blood' was really just a hologram, energy signatures coming   
from his location spiked. As he walked off, the signatures were bouncing off the chart." Washu   
raised her eyes. "Now I believe your theory."  
"He said he had no Juraian power," Katsuhito continued. "But that could be a lie. Right   
now, however, the assumption needs to be made that the destruction of the gem will cut off his   
power."  
"If we can destroy the gem just after it was made," Washu continued for Katsuhito. "Then   
we can assume that he will be left without power, that his quest will be ruined, and history will be   
changed... everything will be back to normal. However, this would present a time paradox; by   
preventing any of this from happening, the future Tenchi that has just rescued Ayeka would have   
no reason to have gone back and destroyed the gem. I mean... We destroy the gem, and   
everything goes back to normal; we're all eating, everyone's happy, no one knows what all just   
happened. Fine. That means that the timeline goes back to normal, meaning that we aren't here   
anymore. And that means that everything will happen again, just as it did. Understand?"  
Ayeka gave her a blank look.  
"Ok, let me explain it this way. Say there's someone who you really, REALLY hate, and   
you decide to kill them. You go back in time and kill them. Yay, happy snappy. That means that   
that person ceases to exist in the future, from the point you killed them on. Without that person, all   
the hate you had for them ceases to exist as well, so your reason to go back in time and kill the   
person is eliminated. Thus, it all happens again, perhaps for the rest of eternity."  
"Oh," Ayeka responded.  
"Only, this time it's a *situation* that we hate and want to kill. When it's gone, we've lost   
our reason to hate it, so there's no reason to go back and kill it in this future, so it all happens   
again. Time loop."  
"Terrible," Mihoshi said. "That's terrible. So what do we do?"  
"That's the interesting part," Washu said, typing at her computer again. "We've got to   
reconstruct time, just like they did. We've got to find a way to combine the effect of getting the   
gem away from George *and* using their machines, or whatever, to cause time to reconstruct   
itself naturally."  
"How do we do that?"  
Washu smiled. "Find a way to cause the gem to be destroyed just after the first time   
reconstruction that started all this starts. As close to the start as we can get it, that is. As soon as the   
people throw the lever, pull the switch, or whatever, to start the first time reconstruction, we need   
the gem to be destroyed as soon after the reconstruction starts as is humanly possible."  
"Hey! We could do that by slipping a bomb in the gem in the past!" Mihoshi suggested.  
"Good idea, Mihoshi," Washu said. "We only have enough energy for one more time   
transfer for Tenchi, and this one will be the most dangerous of all. We need to write him a note   
and send him the bomb with the device that will blow up when the reconstruction starts."  
"So what will all this do?" Katsuhito asked.  
"As soon as the reconstruction starts, all of time from that point on is immune to   
paradoxes," Washu explained. "As time is, after all, being redone. So when the gem explodes, time   
will reconstruct itself in the normal way."  
"Ah."  
"Now, you people write him a note explaining that he is to try to insert the device I'm   
making him into the gem. I'm going to make the bomb. How big was it?"  
Katsuhito made a shape with his fingers. "About this big."  
"Good enough," Washu said, smiling. "Let's hope and pray this time transfer works. And   
that these things can be sent to him."  
  
CHAPTER 18  
Tenchi had no sooner dropped Sasami and the unconscious Ayeka off at a house to be   
watched when his entire world was enveloped by an intense, bright white light. He felt as if he   
were being torn into a million pieces, every one of those pieces being burned. After another few   
seconds of this, everything returned to normal.  
"Man, what an uncomfortable way to time travel," Tenchi mumbled to himself. "Let's see..."   
*What did Washu tell me? If I get transfered somewhere else, there's more work to be done. There   
will be instructions for me. But where?"  
Tenchi was in a small, dark room. It was very stuffy. After a few moments, he realized   
some sort of clothlike material was hanging around him. He felt something like a box behind   
him...  
A closet?  
Tenchi felt around. His hand rested over a small piece of paper and a small device... a   
VERY small device. He picked both up and stood, rubbing his other hand along the wall, looking   
for a light switch or something...  
Eventually he found one. He pressed it, and the light came on. He opened the letter.  
  
"Dear Tenchi--  
I hope you remember what George looks like; we've assumed that he's the leader of this big   
thing as of now. It's the best assumption we can make while we're sitting caged up in some box, so   
we're acting on it.  
What you need to do is put this device in, on, whatever, the gem on George's bracelet. If you   
have not seen his bracelet, it is on his left wrist, and it has a somewhat large gem on it. You need   
to put this device on his writst.  
Don't be around when this device goes off. You are positioned in time about half an hour   
before the first time reconstruction. Right now, we are off in Japan somewhere eating dinner.   
Thought you'd like to know that... Anyway, get this on the gem in half an hour, okay? And don't   
be around when it goes off.  
If the data I've gathered is correct, George is asleep right now, and he will remain asleep for the   
next seventeen minutes... But don't take my word for it. I could be wrong.  
Be strong; the end is near. Make it a good ending for us, Tenchi.  
--Washu"  
  
"Oh, great," Tenchi mumbled to himself. "I wonder where I am...?"  
Tenchi shut the closet light off and stepped out of the closet. He stepped into a hallway; it   
was dark. He could see through a couple windows in another room; it was nearly dark outside.  
Tenchi crept out into the hallway and took a look around. He noticed a staircase to his left   
and decided to take it and see if dear old George was upstairs.  
Tenchi almost laughed aloud at when the words "dear old George" popped into his head.   
They had trusted the freak, and he had betrayed him. Tenchi couldn't wait to get his revenge.  
He crept up the stairs slowly, being as quiet as humanly possible. Although he could almost   
tangibly feel the time ticking away, he knew that it'd do no good to wake George, and Tenchi had   
no idea if George was a light or heavy sleeper, and he didn't see any sense in trying to find out. So   
he crept silently.  
He came to the top and stopped. A hallway ran in one direction to his right. There were   
three doors in the short, dark hallway; one on either side, and one at the end. The door at the end   
of the hallway was slightly ajar, and inside, in the dark, Tenchi could make out a toilet. It was a   
bathroom. He would not be in there.  
Tenchi crept in between the doors, stopped, and listened. In the door to his right he could   
make out breathing sounds.  
*Jackpot!* Tenchi thought.  
He opened the door with extreme care. As it turned out, the door did not make a single   
sound; it slid open quietly. Tenchi thanked his god numerous times before creeping into the room,   
being careful for any creaking boards, objects to bump into, or, Tenchi thought with unease,   
booby traps.  
It seemed an eternity before he reached the side of the bed and peered at the sleeping face   
of George. Tenchi sat there, staring at the man, fear clutching at his heart like a tangible hand. His   
throat was dry and sweat poured down his forehead. He expected, at any moment, for George's   
eyes to simply pop open. Then Tenchi would have failed this mission and George would get   
Tsunami's power and...  
Tenchi pushed these thoughts aside and carefully examined the man's sleeping body. He   
was sleeping on his left side; his left arm was under his body. Tenchi carefully lifted one of the   
blankets. His hand, bracelet on wrist, stuck out.  
*Attach anywhere,* Tenchi's brain told him. *Do it and get the heck out of here.*  
Tenchi glanced at his watch and was shocked to notice that he had spent twelve minutes   
sneaking upstairs and into this room. He only had seven minutes left.  
*Remember, Tenchi,* his brain seemed to say to him. *Washu said she wasn't sure exactly   
how long you had; you better get this done as quickly as you can.*  
Tenchi pulled the little device out of his pocket. He felt it; it had some clips on it. It was   
very, very tiny... He hoped that George would not notice it. It was very tiny, very VERY tiny,   
but... still...  
*JUST DO IT!*  
Tenchi reached out and clipped the device on the bracelet next to the gem. He held his   
breath for a moment, waiting for George to awaken and discover him, waiting for all the plans to   
fail, waiting for anything.  
Nothing happened.  
*I've almost made it,* Tenchi thought. *Now I've just got to get out of here and   
everything's successful...*  
"Oh, geeze," George said quietly.  
Tenchi froze as panic tore over him. He felt gooseflesh build all over him; his arms, neck,   
even his legs. His whole body tingled with sudden shock, fear, wonder...  
*DO SOMETHING! HE'S WAKING UP!*  
Tenchi dropped quietly to his stomach and rolled under George's bed. He laid there,   
practically holding his breath, just waiting for anything to happen.  
George stirred above him. The bed-springs creaked slightly, and Tenchi could hear him   
moving under his blanket.  
"Cripes, what time is it?" came George's sleep-fogged voice. There was a moment of   
silence, then, "CRAP!"  
George practically leapt out of his bed. Tenchi froze, became as stiff as metal. He did not   
move at all, and he almost dared not breathe. He laid there, listening...  
Things opening, the sound of cloth. George was getting out clothes. Tenchi watched as   
clothes fell to the floor, and he heard George pulling on the new clothes. Eventually he heard the   
spray of spray-deodorant.  
"No time for a shower," Tenchi heard George grumble. "I'll take one after the stupid   
reconstruction... What the..."  
*Oh, my God,* Tenchi thought. *He's found it...* 


	4. Part 4

That was when Tenchi was absolutely certain that George had found the small device. The   
terrible feeling of defeat washed over him. He had failed, and this mission was most likely an   
extremely important one. Washu had told him that if she transferred him elsewhere, it would be an   
incredibly important mission. And he had failed. Now what? Would everything happen as it had?   
What would...  
"No wonder," George said, interrupting Tenchi's thoughts. "Stupid alarm clock... Just forgot   
to activate the freakin' alarm. So THAT's why it didn't wake me up. Oh, well, better get goin', or   
I'll be late."  
Tenchi listened, stunned, as George left.  
He felt an overwhelming urge to heave a huge, happy sigh, but held it inside him.  
  
CHAPTER 19  
"Ayeka? Ayeka? Are you awake, Ayeka?"  
Ayeka opened her eyes. She found her sister hovering over her.  
"Sasami!" Ayeka cried.  
"AYEKA!" Sasami screamed, throwing herself onto her sister. "Oh, Ayeka!! Oh, Ayeka!   
Ayeka! You're alive! Oh, Ayeka!"  
"Sasami..." Ayeka said, tears pouring out of her eyes. She hugged Sasami tightly.  
"Ayeka!" Sasami sobbed. "Ayeka, you was going to die for me...! Ayeka, you was going to   
die for me! You... You..."  
"Yes," Ayeka responded, sounding incredibly mature for just a small moment. "Yes. We're   
sisters, us two."  
Sasami sobbed into Ayeka's embrace.  
  
CHAPTER 20  
*This is our big moment,* George thought. *The moment where I rock that little Masaki   
world. The moment I change history like never before. Then, when I have Tsunami's power,   
history won't matter; history will be my will.*  
"Are we ready?" he asked the man sitting in front of the huge computer, taking up nearly   
every inch of this huge room.  
"Readier than ever," the man responded. "Tell me when."  
"Let's take a look at our little Sasami," George said.  
The man in front of the computer tapped a few keys, then on a huge screen in front of them   
came the picture of Sasami. She was eating her food, occasionally looking up and blushing as   
people commented her.  
"It's almost cute," George sighed. "Picture perfect, don't you agree?"  
"Picture perfect," the man repeated with a laugh. "Sir, would you like to press the button?"  
"An honor," George said. He reached over and was just about to press the button, but   
hesitated. He allowed himself one more moment of seeing Sasami, cute, laughing, giggling, eating.   
It was an amazing sight. In that little girl, that silly little girl, was the power of the universe. In her   
was the power of Tsunami; in her was George's claim to be a god.  
In her was everything that he had ever dreamed of; and now he was going to climb into   
those dreams.  
George laughed hysterically and pressed the button.  
The tiniest moment passed. It was a moment so small no clock on earth could measure it;   
not even atomic clocks could have hoped to measure the space of time. The little device, attached   
to the bracelet, blew up with an incredible force. The gem blew into a million pieces, and the   
explosion tore George's arm clear off his body, and blew his chest wide open, making it a bloody,   
chunky fountain.  
The man at the computer shared this fate; his face was blown into his skull. His head nearly   
flew right off his head, but it stayed attached by a thin strap of skin.  
Washu's device had worked.  
It took one second for time to reconstruct. In that one second all of history from a certain   
point in the past clear up to this moment, was reconstructed. The future, with all of the gang   
trapped in a box, simply disappeared. All the terrible things that had happened in the future simply   
ceased to exist, and all the tragedies that had happened in the past were replaced by what had been   
there before.  
And Tenchi knew nothing more of his being in under the bed of George's house. Katsuhito,   
Washu, Mihoshi, Nobayuki, Ryoko, and Ryo-ohki lost all thought of their current awareness,   
locked in the force field box on the starship orbiting the moon.  
All memory of the events was lost. No one could recall a thing...  
...  
...Not a thing...  
...  
...Little Sasami, her blue hair, her sparkling pink eyes... She was such a help to this family,   
always doing chores and cooking, and... She never ever even gets tired.  
*Yes,* Tenchi thought to himself. *I can't even imagine where I'd be without all these   
people. I'd be completely lost.*  
He thought about this for another moment and ate his stew. It was amazingly good, even   
for Sasami. Every meal of hers was great, but this one was especially good.  
*I would do anything for them,* he thought suddenly, and a shudder flew up his spine.  
Tenchi snapped out of his reverie. He looked at the window; it was dark now. The light had   
left, the day was gone; it was night now. Tenchi smiled happily.  
Everyone continued to talk about their day, the things that had happened, and the likes.   
Ayeka and Sasami, for some reason, kept quiet, sharing some sort of strange, knowing look. This   
somewhat bothered Tenchi, but it didn't matter, he decided. Perhaps they were up to something,   
and it was supposed to be a surprise. It didn't matter.  
He was happy this night.  
Perhaps he didn't know how happy he *should have been*, but he was happy.  
Very happy.  
*Life is amazing,* he thought.  
  
THE END  
  
EPILOGUE  
"Ayeka? Are you asleep?"  
"No."  
Sasami turned over in her futon to face Ayeka's. It was very dark in the room but she could   
still make out Ayeka's form under her covers.  
"Did... it... happen?"  
"Yes," Ayeka responded. "Yes, it did."  
"You remember... everything?"  
"Yes," Ayeka responded, more quietly this time.  
"No one else remembers, do they?"  
"No, I don't think they do."  
"Should... should we tell them?"  
"No," Ayeka responded. Then, after a moment, she added, "They'd never believe us."  
"That's okay," Sasami said, giggling. "It doesn't matter, anyway. You know why?"  
"Why, Sasami?"  
"Because..." Sasami paused, trying to choke back tears. She failed. They flowed out of her   
eyes. She rubbed them away but they were replaced with fresh tears. In a broken voice, she used   
the words Ayeka had used. The words that had touched her heart in such a way that would never   
be known.  
They were sisters, forever. Someday they would probably part and go their own way, but   
they would always be sisters, they would always hold a strong sisterly bond. They would always   
love each other as sisters.  
"Because we're sisters, us two."  
  
  
  
AUTHOR'S END NOTES:  
Uh-oh... I knew it... *whistles* I knew this one would get me. Hehe! I guess it's ok to be grabbed   
by a story... I hope it grabbed you! Hehe, I really had fun writing this, I hope you enjoyed reading   
it... I really do... hehe.  
  
Okay, on to the origin of this story so I can end it! Hehe. I don't know... Some stories don't smash   
into your mind at three in the morning... (I recall being unable to sleep one night and suddenly   
coming up with Fire Upon Emeralds.) Well, this one was actually written based on emotions   
invoked by a song, I guess. I was just sitting in front of my word processor, trying to come up with   
something to write... (I write a WHOLE lot, I just don't publish a tenth of what I do, hehe)(Heck, I   
barely let anyone read ANYTHING that I write!) And, I don't know, that song "Mexico" on   
Incubis's CD Morning View was playing, and, I don't know, somehow it made me think of Ayeka   
and Sasami's relationship as sisters.  
  
I had always seen them as strongly bonded, but somehow that song made them seem even closer   
for a while... It wasn't even the words, it was just kind-of the tune that got my brain moving. (I   
can't remember the words to that song right now anyways, but I know it wasn't the words, cuz it   
has NOTHING to do with sisters or whatever.) Ya know... the song tune got me started thinking   
about sister-adventures, or whatever. Hehe.  
  
Well, that about wraps up the origin of the story. And I don't have much else to say, really; I just   
hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Have a good day, be sure to   
review (be honest -- if you didn't like something (such as the whole thing), it's not like it's going to   
kill me to hear about it.) Thanks! Have a good day (wait, I already said that), and remember,   
ummm, WE'RE ALWAYS SISTERS! HEHE! or not, I'm a guy, so no, I won't be your sister. I'll be   
your bro, but that's where I draw the line.  
  
Ok, that's all I have to say. Goodbye!!!!!!!!!!!! 


End file.
